'Spider-Man: Far From Home' (I See What You Did There, Marvel)

I'm sure that it's just a *ahem* coinkydink, but I really had to chuckle just now. I'd actually known the title for the second installment of the Tom Holland Spider-Man reboot series for a while. Months maybe. But it was only today, when I saw the new poster, that I recalled a comment I'd made about how I'd set my "Ultimate Spider-Man" story idea beyond the now boring borders of NYC.

"I also thought that I'd detail the story ideas that I have for my 'Ultimate Spider-Man' movie, which I've set in Chicago, Tokyo and Hong Kong (NYC settings have become a bit cliché in movies today)..." – Paco Taylor, 6.20.2015

Okay, New York is a great city. Far from boring. But Hollywood has just – I think –  milked the snot out of New York. And anyone who pays even a little attention to the culture of America's eastern media capitol knows that there's a very insulated "It's all about us" mindset there. And the fact Marvel Comics itself has always been based there didn't help. 

But damn. You'd think there weren't 50 States in America, and who knows how many cities across this nation. At least DC's Superman was from Kansas, and we got to see a glimpse of a rural, Midwestern landscape in the old Richard Donner directed Superman. 

Oh, wait. Marvel did put Tony Stark in some faux small town setting in Iron Man 3, right? And before that they were in Monaco for the Grand Prix and he was living a Hollywood/Disneyland lifestyle, so there's that. The Avengers and all the related films have seen various foreign vistas ("Wakanda Forever!"). It was mostly just Spider-Man that was relegated to New York. 

And I get it. In the comics, Spider-Man wasn't traditionally like the members of the Avengers or the Fantastic Four. Spidey has mostly been a cash strapped hometown hero. He could barely keep the rent paid in Lower Manhattan, let alone plan for a trip overseas. So at least he's getting a European vacation by way of a class trip in the upcoming film...which I very likely won't even see. 

I didn't see Spider-Man: Homecoming. I've heard tons of great things about it, but I myself was completely over the Peter Parker character. Let the new generation have their live-action Spider-Man, I had mine with Tobey Maguire in the role. Well, the first two Maguire films. The last one was a dumpster fire. Okay, it had some really good things going for it (Sandman!), but man...the bad things in Spider-Man 3 were/are just unforgivable.    

Anywho, I'm actually tired of posting stuff about Spider-Man(s). I just had to take one final dig at Mony (Marvel + Sony) for seemingly availing themselves still another of my brilliant ideas. 

If you're interested, Kevin Feige, Phil Lord, Peter Ramsey, Chris Miller, et. al, I'm available for casual brainstorming sessions and think tanks; I require that room temperature Fiji Water®, unsweetened golden oolong tea – Teas' Tea® brand – and assorted flavors of Japanese Kit Kats® be at my fingertips (non-negotiable). 

There are many more good ideas where these lil' blog toss-offs came from. So like I said before, have your people call my people. (LOL) Or...just shoot me an email: stpaco@gmail.com. 

Spider-Man: Far From Home opens on July 5, 2019.

P.S. I just now paid particular notice to that "I Love NY" sticker on the poster... *Dry heaves*

[Press-N-Play™] Don Cheadle on ‘Black Panther’ Sequel: ‘Put me in the Movie!’ (VIDEO)

I knowz y'all's asses be creepin' on my gotdamb blog, Marvel Studios. Don Cheadle (aka War Machine). Black Panther 2. Make it so.

Hey, Marvel! You got some purty colors on them new fangled 'Avengers: Infinity War' posters

Pink, electric cyan, lavender, greens, reds, varying shades of blue and hints of still other nearly-fluorescent colors. The arrangement is, um... "virtually antithetical to the hyper-masculine colors typically associated with testosterone-driven superhero movies." Heck, it almost kinda-sorta makes you wonder how ya'll came up with such a color palette.

Naw, just kidding. It really it doesn't. [Stares in Don Cheadle] Well played, motherfuckers.

Anywho, just wanted to say beautiful work on the 22 Avengers: Infinity War posters that you dropped on the nerdiverse today. Really beautiful. I approve. (You also get middle fingers, yeah, but I approve.)

St. Paco

Opinion: Halle Berry Was Right Choice To Play Storm In ‘X-Men’ Movies [Hot Linked]

Yoooo! My new piece over on Medium (moved to Vocal.media) goes out as a special dedication to all the Halle Berry haters–cuz y'all suck. Feel free to get abreast on how I managed to milk more out of this very passionate topic of debate amongst geeks than should have been possible by (c)licking here.

~ 7 min read ~

Sit Y'all's Paranoid Asses Down – The ‘Black Panther’ Poster Isn't ‘Too Militant’

Chadwick Boseman's enthroned image pays homage more to legendary African rulers than the Black Panther Party's Huey P. Newton.

It wasn't long after the release of the new teaser poster for next year's MCU film Black Panther that the internet was set ablaze. Keyboard conspiracy theorists were ringing the alarm that the white genocide was a-coming, and the latest sign of the racial apocalypse was a superhero movie poster.

Credit: Marvel

According to critics the image composition for the poster appeared startlingly similar to an iconic image of the Black Panther Party co-founder Huey P. Newton sitting confidently in a wicker chair––holding an African spear and a rifle. And aside from the fact that Black Panther actor Chadwick Boseman holds no weapons, there are some uncanny similarities. 

For instance, both men are seated with their arms resting atop the armrests of their respective chairs. Both are dressed in stylish black outfits and – maybe most remarkably – both men are African-American. But despite those senses-shattering similarities, the film poster takes its cues from another image that, like the Newton photo, has deep historical significance.

Credit: Blair Stapp, 1967

The image in question is a 1959 photograph of the Nigerian King Olateru Olagbegi II (1910–1998). Olateru was the ruler of the ancient city of Owo, which was once the capital of the Eastern Yoruban city-state. In the photograph, which was taken outside his palace, the king sits under the shade of a velour umbrella, framed between two ornately engraved elephant tusks. 

Oba Olateru Olagbegi II, the Olowo of Owo

And it is this regal image of Olateru to whom homage is paid with the poster of the enthroned T'Challa, the superhero king of Wakanda. An image that is most apparent in the tusk-like structural design elements jutting from the left and right sides of his throne. In the mid-1970s, the photo of Olateru had a similar influencing effect on another promotional print image.

In 1975, the Anheuser-Busch Company began commissioning artists for a series of prints created to bring awareness to various African leaders throughout history. The series was called The Great Kings and Queens of Africa, and one of the 28 prints in the series featured an iconic image of the great Hannibal (247-183 BC), ruler of the ancient North African city of Carthage.  

Credit: The Anheuser-Busch Company / Artist: Charles Lilly

Released in 1977, the Hannibal image was painted by artist Charles Lilly, but shows the unmistakable influence of the photo of the Nigerian king Olateru. In the print, the celebrated military strategist – whose soldiers were famed for riding elephants into war – sits on a high-backed wooden chair framed by two large elephant tusks whose tips are adorned with gold rings. 

Sold in sets of four, ads for Anheuser-Busch's The Great Kings and Queens of Africa print series were carried in the pages of publications like Ebony, Jet magazine for decades––and the prints themselves were subsequently found adorning the walls of classrooms across America. And in the process, the print images forged an indelible impression on several generations of African-Americans.

Now, while it is certainly possible that the teaser poster for Ryan Coogler's eagerly-awaited Black Panther shares a slight resemblance with iconic photograph of Huey P. Newton, the influence of the photograph of the Nigerian king Olateru cannot be denied. But let's leave it to those uber-paranoid keyboard conspiracy theorists to give it another try. 

Speaking of conspiracies, are you also equally disturned by the fact that we have to wait until friggin' February to see Black Panther?